


Parachutes

by bitsori



Series: When It Feels Like This [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Allusions to Han Jisung | Han's Anxiety, Amusement Parks, Canon Compliant, Dates, Day Off, Lee Minho | Lee Know is In Love, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22465819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitsori/pseuds/bitsori
Summary: “We haven’t decided what we’re doing yet,” Minho tells him, absentmindedly tugging at a loose thread on Jisung’s shirt sleeve.“What we’re doing?” Jisung quirks an eyebrow. “I assumed you were going home, hyung.”Okay, so maybe Minho hasn’t really outright said that he’d prefer to spend some of the break with him. He just assumed that was a given, after all.“I assumed we were spending some of it together.” He tries not to frown, not wanting to show the disappointment he’s feeling that this doesn’t seem to have crossed Jisung’s mind.“Oh!” But then the younger male’s entire face lights up at the idea, and all traces of that disappointment dissipates, and a small smile begins to curve along Minho’s own lips. “You didn’t mention anything like that—but yeah, okay! What should we do?”--or: Stray Kids are given a short break, and Minho and Jisung make the most out of it.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: When It Feels Like This [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616323
Comments: 46
Kudos: 645





	Parachutes

**Author's Note:**

> [ 1 ] This is a very, very, VERY self-indulgent fluff piece inspired by the pics/short clips/fan accounts of Minsung at Lotte World. Which means that if it turns out that they _were_ filming (which I'm aware is super likely!!) then consider this an alternate reality fic instead, haha. ♡
> 
> [ 2 ] God bless **J** for helping me with words for a particular scene in this – you know which one I mean!! And thank you Miss AO3 user [undelicate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/undelicate) for egging on some of my 'reality until proven otherwise' headcanons that made it into this fic, hahaha.
> 
> [ 3 ] Fic title is from [Neck Deep's Parachute](https://open.spotify.com/track/1YHulXIy2DNnYOg1okzeex). 
> 
> [ 4 ] This is set in the same universe as [Gravity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18959341), so I guess this is technically a sequel to that, but it's still very much an independent canon compliant story.
> 
> [ 5 ] Edited this while running to little to no sleep, so I probably missed more errors than usual – advanced apologies for that. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this anyway! Thanks for reading through my unnecessary ramblings up to here ;;
> 
> **ETA** We know more about the nature of their little sojourn to Lotte World now, so just consider this fic something like a little pocket of canon divergence set in Gravity!Verse. That said, Gravity has now also been edited post 200908 to contain a lot less of WJ. If you have read the stories in this universe before, and decide to reread it, you might notice a lot of little changed details because of that.

  
  
  
  


_I want to let go, and fall for you,_ _  
__And when it gets rough, be your parachute_ _  
__I wanna do the things that you only read about_ _  
__Are you ready?_  
 **Neck Deep,** "Parachute"

  
  
  


— ⁜ —

“Hyung!” Jisung groans loudly and dramatically as Minho climbs on top of him, pressing down against him in an obviously playful manner, but still with the power of his full weight crushing the smaller male. “Hyung! Minho-hyuuuung! You're heavy!”

“I’m making you take responsibility,” Minho declares, chuckling smugly and wiggling on top of Jisung. “It’s your fault I broke my diet again!” Granted, he might have said ‘okay’ a little too easily when Jisung told him he wanted to order jokbal after they got home from late practice the other night – but he reasons that Jisung should know by now that Minho can never really say no to him, which means should be more conscientious about using this power of his only for good.

“Jeongin, help!” Jisung screeches, and from across the room, the youngest briefly looks up from whatever he's doing on his phone. He doesn't really react much past that, clearly way too used to the two of them and their antics by now. “Hyung,” he whines, when he receives absolutely no sympathy from Jeongin. “Mercy!” He adds, his voice smaller and almost breathy, and this is when Minho finally caves and rolls off him.

“Only because you’re so frail,” Minho declares, patting Jisung’s bum before immediately throwing a leg over the latter’s torso, effectively locking him in place.

Jisung struggles again, at least at first, but it’s really just for show, and he gives in soon enough, simply melting against Minho.

“We haven’t decided what we’re doing yet,” Minho tells him, absentmindedly tugging at a loose thread on Jisung’s shirt sleeve. 

The group’s entire first quarter had been laid out for them by management as early as the end of the previous year – most of their local activities were scheduled around their touring dates, which was exciting, but at the same time quite overwhelming. The good news was that management had also generously allowed them several days off that happened to fall right before the long Lunar New Year weekend. The other members had long ago made plans – most of them with their respective families – but the two of them kept putting off finalising decisions. 

Minho knew that he was definitely going to spend part of his free time at home with his parents and his cats, but he also knew that he wanted to spend some of it with Jisung. Despite living together, and working together, and basically spending every waking moment together, actual free time with his boyfriend was hardly ever had. The problem with this, however, was that Jisung never seemed to make up his mind regarding what he wanted to do. (“I don’t know,” was his frequent answer whenever Minho inquired about his plans, so every time he dropped the subject, assuming that Jisung simply needed more time to think about it.)

“What  _ we’re _ doing?” Jisung quirks an eyebrow. “I assumed you were going home, hyung.”

Okay, so maybe Minho hasn’t really outright said that he’d prefer to spend some of the break with him. He just assumed that was a given, after all.

“I thought we were spending  _ some  _ of it together.” He tries not to frown, not wanting to show the disappointment he’s feeling that this doesn’t seem to have crossed Jisung’s mind.

“Oh!” When the younger male’s entire face lights up at the idea and all traces of that disappointment dissipates and a small smile begins to curve along Minho’s own lips. “You didn’t mention anything like that—but yeah, okay! What should we do?”

Minho lets out a small exasperated huff, but he forgives Jisung easily; he knows his boyfriend has had a lot of things on his mind recently. “That’s what I’m asking you,” he points out. “We can just stay in if you want—I know most of the others are leaving early tomorrow morning.” He likes the idea of staying in, to be frank –  _ loves _ the idea of being alone with his boyfriend at home, in bed. They might live together, but it isn’t as if they have the time or the opportunity to do much more than exchange brief kisses every now and then, not with their work schedule, and not with the rest of the group being around all the time. “Hey, Jeonginnie, what time are you heading home tomorrow—?” He asks, turning around to address the youngest, only to realise that Jeongin’s bed is now empty.

Jisung peers over his shoulder, looking just as surprised at his roommate’s disappearance. “When did he get up and leave?”

Minho laughs. “No idea—” He turns to face Jisung once more, grinning as his arm slides around his boyfriend’s tiny waist, pulling him even closer. They really do not get enough alone time like this so he isn’t about to complain. “So, tomorrow—” He steers the conversation back to its original direction. “We can just stay in like this and order food. Maybe we can ask Felix’s permission to use his gaming system?”

Jisung hums; his lips are pursed and he has a sort of faraway look in his eyes making it obvious that he’s deep in thought about something. Minho finds the expression adorable, however, and it makes him badly want to kiss his boyfriend – lucky for him, he has good self control, because he knows that making out right now will not get them anywhere. 

“I kind of want to go out,” Jisung admits softly, much to Minho’s surprise.

“Yeah?” He blinks. “You want to catch a movie? We can eat at our favorite BBQ place for lunch.” He leans in and lowers his voice, whispering almost seductively in Jisung’s ear even as he tries not to laugh at what he’s about to say, “I’ve got discount coupons~”

“Hyung!” Jisung laughs loudly enough for both of them, and it’s enough to make Minho’s cheeks split wide in a successful grin. “That sounds great, but actually—”

“Actually?”

There’s a shadow of uncertainty in Jisung’s expression, and a slight quiver on his bottom lip that Minho only notices because he’s Minho, this is Jisung, and Minho is conditioned to notice even the littlest thing about Jisung.

“We don’t get real vacation time this often, so if we’re going to spend it together…” He trails off but Minho nods at him, silently urging him to continue, so he does. “I want to make the most out of it, hyung. Let’s go somewhere that, uh—” Jisung chuckles softly, ducking his head and inadvertently burrowing into Minho’s chest in the process.

“Somewhere that—?”

Jisung inhales deeply and moves away, looking up so he can meet Minho’s gaze. “Just somewhere that real couples go to. You know—on dates. Like the zoo, or the aquarium—or maybe a theme park, even.”

Minho stares at his boyfriend – Han Jisung, self confessed homebody – and tries to determine just how much he means what he’s saying. “Those are all pretty crowded places, Jisungie.”

The other male nods curtly. “I know,” he whispers; and then he looks up and smiles at Minho. “I’ll be fine. It’ll be fun—we’ll have fun, hyung.”

It’s a brave smile, and it immediately makes Minho want to agree, but he’s still feeling pretty tentative. “I don’t know, Jisungie—”

“Well  _ I  _ know, hyung!” Jisung’s smile widens into an actual grin. “Trust me! I know my limits and I know that I won’t get any better if you coddle me. I have to face my fears, and push myself little by little. I learned that from you, and my therapist approves.”

Minho narrows his eyes at him. “When did I say that?”

“You didn’t, hyung. But it’s what you do.”

Jisung speaks with a very calm certainty that surprises him into silence; Minho stares at Jisung, knowing that he can’t really counter what the younger is saying because it’s true – that’s what he does all the time, and being told that something that’s become habitual for him all throughout his life is somewhat a source of strength for Jisung,  _ well. _ It makes something in his chest bloom, reminding him just how much he cares for this man, and just how much he wants to keep him by his side for however long that Jisung would let him.

“Okay,” he finally agrees. “Pick one, and we’ll go there—but the moment you feel anything less than stellar you have to tell me, yeah? And we’ll go.”

Jisung huffs in complaint, but Minho responds with a stern look which has him nodding in acquiescence. “Okay, I promise.” 

Minho lets out a sigh of relief; unable to help himself, he leans in and places a quick kiss on the tip of Jisung’s nose. “I have one other condition,” he declares, as he comes up with an idea right then and there.

Jisung hmphs, but he nods. “What is it, then?”

“Go home with me for the rest of the break.”

Jisung’s eyes widen in surprise. “Really?”

“Why just spend a part of the break with you, when we can spend all of it together?” And as he says it, it sounds so simple that he can’t believe he hadn’t come up with this idea earlier. “My mom would love to have you around—she’ll spoil you silly, and… you can also meet my siblings.”

“Your sib—? Ah, you mean the cats!” Jisung is smiling so brightly, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he nods enthusiastically, and Minho is so damn happy that he thought of this, even if it did take him a while. “Okay, hyung! I can’t wait!”

  
  
  


Most of the members are gone by the time Minho and Jisung get ready for their day out. (Their  _ date _ out, Minho can’t help but think to himself, to the point that he keeps having to bite the inside of his cheek just so he doesn’t start smiling out of the blue.)

He doesn’t take that long – he showers and throws on jeans that have long been broken in and a comfortable hoodie. After much discussion the previous night, he and Jisung had, for some reason, decided on Lotte World, so comfort was number one on his mind. (He wasn’t particularly enthused at the idea of theme park rides, and neither was Jisung, but somehow they had talked each other into picking the last place neither of them were particularly roaring to go. “We should push ourselves, hyung,” Jisung declared, “we should face our fears!” and as usual, Minho couldn’t bring himself to truly argue and disagree with him.)

On the other hand, Jisung takes a while to get ready – Minho assumes it’s because he’s only just now packing for the trip to Gimpo (not that he needs to pack a lot, when Minho assured him he can lend him most of anything once they're there), but when he emerges from his room, Jisung is clad in very nice jeans, and a black print jacket that Minho is pretty sure just arrived by post not even a week ago. He’s also wearing boots, and Minho’s about to make some kind of comment about how his feet are going to end up hurting from those after an entire afternoon of walking around in an amusement park, but then he notices something about his boyfriend’s face.

“Are you—?” He squints as he steps closer, only to crack up with laughter. “Did you put some BB cream on?!”

Jisung turns his head away and waves Minho off. “Just a small amount!” He huffs. “Just enough to look… handsome and blemish free for our date.”

Minho opens his mouth, all set to tease Jisung some more, but the earnestness in the latter's tone just has him laughing and reaching over to ruffle the younger’s hair. “Cute,” he coos softly, even as Jisung swats his hand away.

“Not the hair!” He decries, even though he immediately fits a white snapback on his head right after. Minho doesn’t get it, because that just guarantees him hat hair later, but it’s not as if he’ll find Jisung any less pretty for it so instead, this time when he reaches over, it’s to playfully tug the cap bill down.

“You ready, then?” 

“Hyung, the real question is—is the world ready for  _ me?” _ Jisung smirks, looking disproportionately proud of his silly comment.

“Shut up,” Minho tells him, trying to sound exasperated, except he’s unable to keep in an amused snort. “Let’s just go.”

They pull on anti-fog, anti-pollen masks as soon as they step outside, both for the sake of their collective health, and to minimize the chances of being spotted and recognised by the public.

The station platform is luckily not that crowded; it's not empty either, but there's enough space and breathing room to keep Jisung relaxed, which kept  _ Minho _ relaxed. 

The two of them shuffle inside one of the cars and position themselves near the back. There are no more free seats so the two of them just grip on the handlebars and lean against each other for support. Jisung soon puts music on – Minho knows that keeps him focused and helps him to tune out his surroundings so he doesn't comment on it and simply follows suit. 

His own music fills his ears soon enough; it's nice, how even in a crowded train he and Jisung manage to find comfort like this, with just music and each other's comforting presence. That's how Minho feels anyway – he can only surmise that's how it is for the younger as well.

Halfway through the train ride, after more people board, Jisung shifts in position and he adjusts his cap; when he does this, Minho easily catches a whiff of his shampoo, green tea scented with just a slight hint of menthol. Minho never tells Jisung but he loves this smell, and instinctively, it makes him lean forward, eager to catch more of it.

“Hyung?” Jisung snaps him out of it; he’s taken out one of his earpods and is looking up at him curiously, much to Minho’s embarrassment. “You’re crowding me a little,” he explains, but there’s an amused quirk tugging at the corners of his lips that lets Minho know he’s been caught.

“Sorry, train’s wobbly,” is his explanation of choice anyway, even making a show of tightening his grip on the ring handle that he’s holding on to; he wonders if they should have taken a cab instead. They probably should have, and he mentally berates himself for not thinking of it earlier.

“Okay, hyung,” Jisung nods, only to grip Minho's arm with his free hand. “Careful there,” he adds with a smile, and Minho can only inwardly sigh because he wants more – he wants to wrap an arm around Jisung and pull him close; he wants to take Jisung’s cap off so he can properly inhale the scent of his shampoo, and he wants to hold Jisung by the hips and let his fingers creep up to the spot on his waist where he knows his boyfriend gets extra ticklish. He wants to do a lot of things, all of a sudden, except he can’t, because they’re out in public and an inappropriate amount of skinship is not advisable.

It suddenly feels like it’s going to be a long day, but then he reminds himself that this is what Jisung wants to do – and it’s what Jisung wants to do with  _ him,  _ so he figures they’ll have plenty of time later for what  _ he _ wants to do with Jisung.

“Hyung,” Jisung’s voice cuts through his thoughts again. “You’ve got a funny look on your face.”

He almost blushes –  _ almost. _ Lucky for him, Minho is well-versed in the art of cooling himself down, so he scoffs, laughs, and proceeds to flick Jisung on the forehead. 

“You’ve got a funny face,” he retorts, and Jisung simply laughs, all too aware of all the hidden meanings behind the things that Minho says most of the time.

  
  
  


The moment they get to Lotte World, their feet naturally bring them to the gift shop closest to the entrance. 

“We’re here, so we might as well do the whole nine yards and get all theme parked up, yeah?” Jisung grins, walking around and looking through the available merchandise before he picks out a random pair of fairy antennae which he sticks on over his cap. “How do I look?”

_ Cute, _ is of course the quick and easy answer that comes to Minho’s thoughts; out loud, however, he simply laughs. He continues to look around, surveying the choices available; he knows exactly the design he wants for his boyfriend, and once he spots it, he turns back to Jisung, picks off the antennae he’s already wearing and puts it back on the rack.

“This one fits you better,” he declares, beaming as he chooses a headband adorned with an adorable squirrel plushie instead. “A mini Hannie, with his very own mini acorn.”

Jisung laughs, not even really looking surprised but looking more like he chose the wrong headband on purpose just so he can enjoy the privilege of Minho picking exactly this one, before properly fixing it atop Jisung's head himself. “We have to choose one for you too,” Jisung says afterwards, eyes already back to perusing their choices.

“I think all the cat ears are sold out,” Minho comments, as they pass by a near empty rack. “Unsurprising—today’s park-goers have taste.”

Jisung snorts. “You aren’t getting out of this—” He grabs a pair of bunny ears instead from a nearby display, which he offers to Minho. “Fans prefer you as a rabbit anyway, hyung!”

Minho wrinkles his nose and stares at the offered accessory, considering it briefly. He’s about to take it (to appease Jisung, he reasons in his head), when something more interesting catches the corner of his eye. Laughing, he moves past Jisung to reach for the headband with the giraffe ears, which he unceremoniously slides onto his head.

_ “Kirino _ is back,” he jokes, flashing a cheesy peace sign as he turns to face Jisung, who he finds is looking at him with a bright and excited expression.  _ On a date with daramjwisung _ , he adds in his head.

“Perfect,” Jisung declares, nodding smugly, while letting out happy laughter. Just the sound fills Minho’s heart with glee, and he decides that despite all his reservations from the previous evening when they were discussing today’s plans, it’s looking more and more worth it. 

There’s a short line to pay, but Jisung doesn’t look even the least bit bothered, so Minho allows himself to relax. The queue doesn’t take more than five minutes anyway, and then they’re paying for their purchase and looking for a spot where they can take pictures together.

“What do you want to ride first?” Minho asks after they’re done taking around a dozen and a half selfies that range from serious to ridiculously silly. Jisung fiddles with his phone as they walk around after, apparently sending a few pictures to the KaTalk group chat they share with the rest of the members, so Minho has no choice but to hold Jisung by the elbow in order to guide the younger around and prevent him from tripping over his own two feet. “Jisungie!”

“Oh? Huh?” Jisung looks up and flashes a sheepish smile. “Just wanted to show everyone that we’re having a great time—” He comments, and Minho can tell he’s just buttering him up now, but he only rolls his eyes. 

“How do you want to do this?” He asks again. “Do we do indoor or outdoor attractions? Which ride do you want to go on first, ‘Sung?”

“Uh—” Jisung finally pockets his phone and the two of them stop in their tracks. They both exchange a look before they take a look at their surroundings, and this is when it finally sinks in for both of them that they’re at a  _ theme park. _ A place where they need to actually get on rides so they can take full advantage of their money’s worth.

It’s silly, because it isn’t as if it’s their first time at the theme park. Minho has been to Lotte World countless times with school friends, and even once with his dancing buddies. He’s not sure how many times Jisung has gone in the past, but at the very least the two of them have gone with the rest of the group.

There’s something very different about going together, and being completely aware of each other’s comfort zones, especially considering that there’s no actual need to impress anyone, or to show off in front of any camera. 

“Not that,” Jisung says as he points towards the French Revolution roller coaster as they observe it loop around from where they’re standing. “No Viking either, hyung, please?”

Minho laughs. Jisung’s inhibitions are good for him as well, and he isn’t about to counter just for the sake of it. 

“Flume ride?” He offers, knowing that the twists and turns of the water ride aren’t that bad.

“Don’t want to get soaked this early on,” Jisung counters. “Bump cars?”

That gets a quick agreement from Minho, and so they resume their trek, checking their pamphlet for the map on it’s back to make sure they know where they’re going.

“Remember the last time we were here?” Jisung muses out loud.

“Yeah—it was at the crack of dawn, and all the rides were turned off,” Minho easily responds; he knows Jisung likely means that time before they officially debuted, when they were still ideally touting  _ nine or none, _ and Minho was just happy to have made the final debut line-up. Nevertheless, he’s being difficult on purpose by talking about the time they’d filmed for their own variety reality, when they were more tired than ideal – just a tad more jaded about the idol life overall – and staff had managed to procure permission for them to film at Lotte World for their own makeshift version of  _ Running Man. _

Jisung groans and pinches his arm. “That was a mess of a time,” he clicks his tongue. “Seungmin injured himself.”

“And I got eliminated when I shouldn’t,” Minho volunteers, even while knowing that what Jisung is talking about doesn’t really compare to his own silly complaint. He’s playing, of course (as usual), but Jisung actually quiets down which has him concerned. “Sorry,” he says, nudging Jisung’s side. “I was kidding—at least Seungmin’s injury didn’t have lasting effects.”

The younger male shakes his head. “It isn’t that, hyung—I was just thinking. Those were good times, yeah? There were still nine of us.”

Minho hums. “And now there’s only two of us,” he says, trying to lift the mood as best as he can.

“Hyung,” Jisung isn’t having it, though. There’s a solemness to his expression that makes Minho take a deep breath.

“Yeah, I know, ‘Sung,” he says with a sigh. “I think about him sometimes too, but—” He shrugs; his knuckles brush against Jisung’s as they walk side by side, and he really, really wants to move his hand, to reach out just a little so he can slide his fingers through Jisung’s. It would be an act of comfort for the younger, but honestly, it would bring him some as well.

“Sorry—” Jisung forces out laughter. “I didn’t mean to bring the mood down, hyung.”

Minho shakes his hand and waves the apology off. He knows that he and Jisung don’t usually talk about such serious things, but he also doesn’t want his boyfriend to feel that he can’t actually bring these kinds of thoughts and feelings up when he wants to. “It’s okay, you didn’t,” he assures him. “But, hey—” he grins, instead trying to focus on more positive aspects of the memories that Jisung has conjured. “Wasn’t the trip to Lotte World also your doing, back then?”

“Ah—” Jisung laughs, this time a lot more genuinely. “Yeah! That was my wish—mine and Lix’s, right? I think?” He tilts his head to the side as if trying to remember better, and Minho finds the action incredibly endearing. “I think I just really wanted to walk around with the members while wearing a school uniform—and I just threw in the idea of amusement parks for kicks. I was probably watching some youth drama at the time.” 

“You really like going around attempting to replicate things you see on TV,” Minho jibes. “Our little baby Han Jisung! So easily influenced by pop culture!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Jisung snorts; this time he’s the one waving at Minho dismissively. “A good musician and lyricist needs to have these kinds of life experiences, hyung! Back then it was all about experiencing the friendship and camaraderie of youth! But now—”

“But now—?”

Jisung grins, and when he speaks, his voice is softer, almost a whisper – clearly just for Minho to hear. “Now— _ today, _ it’s all about experiencing the romance of youth.”

Minho blinks rapidly because  _ that  _ was not where he was expecting the conversation to go; then again, maybe he should have expected exactly that because Jisung has always been pretty good at dropping exactly these kinds of comments when Minho least expects it. Minho isn’t a person that’s easily caught off-guard, but Jisung is the one person who has mastered the art of doing exactly this. 

Jisung smirks, clearly well aware of the effect he has, but really, his expression only adds to Minho’s desire to kiss the living daylights out of him. The feeling is almost overwhelming, to the point that Minho almost suggests heading to the Tomb of Horror just so they can make out in the dark, but then fake masked ghoulies are probably high up on the list of desire killers so he holds his tongue.

“Want to try the Boong Boong Cars first, hyung?” Jisung suddenly suggests, stopping and pointing at the signage for the park ride in front of them, and Minho manages to laugh again.

“We’re in the Kids area,” he points out, with just the tiniest hint of teasing in his tone.

“So?” Jisung shrugs. “Time to experience the youthful part of youth!” He declares, already walking excitedly towards the short queue that’s unsurprisingly made up of little children being accompanied by a parent or two. 

“Right,” Minho nods. “Just admit you’re too scared to go on the big boy rides!”

“You and me both, hyung, you and me both!”

  
  
  


“I think I’m ready for a main attraction,” Jisung announces. “A real ride.”

It’s been several hours, and Minho is  _ tired  _ – but it’s mostly from walking around. (And to be frank, spinning around in teacups can be very tiring—at least the heady feeling it gives you after going on it twice is easily comparable to the feeling of being tired.) Poised for some actual sun, however, the two of them had finally decided to wander towards the outdoor part of the park.

“Right—the carousel is pretty real,” Minho says, twisting open the cap of the water bottle he just got from a vending machine inside. 

“Fuck, no!” Jisung laughs and shakes his head vehemently. “I mean a  _ real _ ride!” 

“A  _ real _ ride?” Minho almost spits out the water he had just been gulping down; he’s not sure he likes what Jisung is saying.

“Yep!” Jisung nods giving an eager impression, but Minho still recognizes the caution in his eyes.

“I was perfectly fine with the kiddie rides,” Minho counters. “I’ll stop teasing you about them, I promise.”

Jisung laughs and tugs at the sleeve of Minho’s hoodie. “Come on hyung, don’t be a coward. Let’s pick one extreme ride and call it a day!”

Minho huffs. “Me? A coward? Excuse you!”

“You’re the one trying to chicken out of picking a more fun ride, hyung!” Jisung points out, clicking his tongue in an annoying manner. Frankly, Minho can’t tell if Jisung really means what he’s saying, or he’s just playing a weird game of chicken – he hates that he’s about to give in anyway. 

“Fine, one extreme ride,” Minho grits his teeth. “If you chicken out at the last minute, I’m never letting you forget it.”

“I won’t! I promise!” Jisung crosses his fingers above his heart. “You can punish me if I do,” he adds, grinning and wagging his eyebrows playfully. 

“Not sure you’re thinking of actual punishment,” Minho scoffs, lightly shoving his boyfriend in a playful manner. “But alright! So—” He opens the park map, all crumpled from hours worth of study, that he still has in his hands. “Wanna do the Gyro Swing?”

He looks up just in time to see Jisung get paler; he almost laughs, but he does his best to appear nonchalant – the Gyro Swing isn’t exactly his first choice either.

“Uh, is that the thing that rotates you 360 while it swings around?” 

Minho nods.

“What else is there?”

Minho finally allows himself to laugh, and then he shoves the map in Jisung’s hands. “Pick.”

He watches Jisung inhale deeply, and Minho can tell that Jisung is already nervous about going on whatever ride it is that he hasn’t even really picked out – but he can also tell that Jisung is determined to do this for himself so he chooses not to say anything anymore. The idea of getting on any ride that will take him a hundred feet off the ground (give or take several feet, he obviously doesn’t know the exact numbers), is already making his heart pound against his rib cage, but he tries to push away the discomfort in favor of (as Jisung had said the previous night) facing his fears.

In the end, Jisung declares the Gyro Spin as the “Least of all the three Gyro Evils” so they head there together, both of them silent as they try their best not to back out before they can even get on the ride. The large crowd that makes up the long queue for their ride of choice doesn’t really help either of them calm down – Jisung, especially, so Minho ends up paying very close attention to him as they fall in line, even while he makes sure to remain hypersensitive to their surroundings.

“Hyung, look—” Jisung holds out his right hand to show him; he’s trembling a little, but the smile on his face manages to curb Minho’s worries. “I’m shaking,” he points out, and Minho knows it’s his own way of showing that he’s doing his best to be in control of himself.

“I can see that,” Minho says, clicking his tongue right before he gives Jisung a playful high five. “You can still back out, Han.”

“You wish, hyung,” Jisung sticks his tongue out at him, eyes sparkling, before he simply takes his phone out so he can focus on it instead of the crowd around them. Minho briefly looks over his shoulder, and he almost laughs when he sees that Jisung’s just sending more of the silly pictures they’ve taken over the last couple of hours to the other members.

He’s about to take his own phone out so he can comment on the group chat, but then he notices a couple of girls eyeing them from a distance. He immediately and instinctively adjusts his mask, but he knows that the action is moot. If they’re fans, then they’ve probably recognised the two of them already.

“‘Sung,” he mumbles. “Possible trouble at 3 o’clock—don’t look!”

Jisung, typical, turns to look anyway. “Stay?” he whispers back.

“I think so.”

He momentarily pales, and Minho thinks he probably looks the same. It isn’t as if they weren’t ready for this possibility – sure, they aren’t the most known celebrities, especially outside of idol fans, but they’re still public figures. Still, it’s a little nerve-racking, if only because they’re on an actual date – and that’s not exactly something you want fans intruding on.

Jisung nods, and they exchange a certain look; they talked about this last night, and as Minho remembers their silly, almost half-baked plan, he almost laughs. Minho takes out the GoPro that management had lent them for filming their vacation vlogs; Minho had hidden it in the large pocket of his hoodie, and he hands it to Jisung who attaches it to his wrist. Filming themselves would, in a way, be hitting two birds with one stone—they’ll be providing fans the content that management wants them too, and they’ll be able to go about their date freely, under the guise of it being official content. 

Within the next minute, they’ve pulled down their masks – just a bit, just enough to look like they’re actually filming something as they look and talk at the small camera.

Surprisingly, the fans – the general crowd – actually shrink back, and Minho cannot believe that Jisung’s idea (because  _ of course _ it was his, and Minho will never admit it out loud, but Jisung’s uncanny ability to come up with ridiculous yet smart ideas is insanely attractive) of faking official business actually worked, especially since they don’t even have a manager tailing them.

Then again, as they near the front of the queue, they’re reminded that the crowd is only the first half of their worries, because now they actually have to get on the ride.

“Last chance,” Minho whispers; they watch as the park employees help the people in front of them get on, their knuckles lightly brushing against each other’s. When Minho turns to Jisung, he silently assures him with his eyes – he can call it off if he wants, and they’ll be square.

“Stop giving me those puppy dog eyes,” Jisung berates him with a snort. “No one’s getting out of this, so stop trying!” He laughs, right before boldly taking Minho’s hand in his, and pulling him along as he steps up the platform. Together, they follow the employee who helps them into seats near the far end of the disk.

Their hands separate as they’re both locked into their seats, and that really doesn’t help the pounding against Minhi’s rib cage lessen any. It gets worse, even, and he has to pull at his seat’s safety bars a few times just to make sure he’s truly safe and secure.

“Minho-hyung, hey,” Jisung calls for him, his voice sounding distant even though they’re right next to each other. When Minho turns to face his boyfriend, he’s met with a nervous smile and an offered hand which he graciously takes. 

That – Jisung’s presence, and the comforting reminder that they’re doing this together – calms him down somewhat, but just barely, so he turns towards morbid humor.

“If I die, just know—”

_ I love you,  _ he would have said, except Jisung is quick to interrupt him.

“Shut up, hyung, don’t be—” 

The younger doesn’t get to finish his thought either, as the ride starts to lift off the ground and both of them let out sharp gasps. It starts slow at first, but before the spinning even starts, Jisung is already tightening his grip on Minho’s hand, practically cutting off the latter’s blood circulation.

As soon as they start spinning in the air, Jisung yells, all sorts of prayers and profanities mixing together and tumbling off his tongue. Meanwhile, Minho can only let out soundless laughter, even as tears begin to well at the corners of his eyes.

When the ride eventually ends (not a moment too soon, Minho would say), they both stumble out of it, looking dazed and completely out of it. 

“H-hyung—” Jisung leans against Minho, knees wobbly; the latter catches him, still laughing silently because that’s the only way he knows how to counter his nerves. They find their footing, and regain their breaths somewhere to the side of the ride, and when their eyes meet again, the two of them burst into loud, simultaneous laughter. “Why’d we do that again?” Jisung asks, wheezing.

“You wanted to!” Minho scolds him, but his tone has no real bite to it.

“Oh—right.” Jisung can only laugh again, hand clutching at his chest as he continues to try and relax.

“Well—hey, at least we didn’t die,” Minho points out. He leans forward to rest his forehead on Jisung’s shoulder, unable to bring himself to think about prying eyes that might be watching them. They can watch, he thinks. As far as they’re concerned they’re friends – members from the same idol group who have always supported each other. 

“Dramatic,” Jisung comments, hitting him lightly on his arm.

Minho hums, straightening up, only to whisper softly against Jisung’s ear before he pulls away. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

Jisung laughs even more. “Dramatic— _ and _ horny.”

“I hear near death experiences do that to you,” Minho remarks, clicking his tongue and finally stepping away completely.

  
  
  


Despite the flirty banter, and Jisung’s seemingly unwavering confidence even after the extreme ride, it doesn’t take long before he turns to Minho and admits that he’s reached his limits. It makes sense, especially as the park crowd seems to double as the afternoon goes on.

“We’re missing the fireworks,” Minho comments when the thought dawns on him way after they've left the crowded confines of the park. They’ve chosen to take the bus route to Minho’s home, and they’re now squeezed together in a two-seater near the back of one. Outside, the sun is on its way down, and the sky is a pretty mix of deep orange, dusky purple and however one would describe the color of smog. 

Taking the bus to Gimpo meant slower time travel and the hassle of one bus transfer compared to taking the subway, but it was rush hour, which meant the added stress of packed trains. It was a pretty easy decision to make, and Minho figured they’d get home just in time for dinner to be done being prepared.

“You wanted to stick around for fireworks?” Jisung looks surprised.

“Not really—” Minho laughs. “I thought you did.”

Jisung shrugs, looking quite drained of his earlier enthusiasm.

“How are you feeling?” Minho shifts in his seat, thigh pressing against Jisung’s in an act of comfort. He knows it probably doesn’t do much, and he has to busy his hands by palming his knees, because as usual, there isn’t really much else he can do in public.

“Truthfully?” Jisung asks.

Minho hums and nods.

“Tired,” Jisung admits; he takes his cap off, fingers running through thick, blonde locks, and once more the scent of his shampoo, now mixed together with the muskiness of day old trapped perspiration, wafts towards his nose. Before he’s able to stop himself, he inhales deeply, which earns him a weird look from his boyfriend.

“What—?” He coughs defensively, snatching Jisung’s hat out of his hands before he can put it back on. “Let your head breathe, geez.”

Jisung chuckles and raises his hands in defeat. “Okay, hyung, because you said so.”

Minho fits the cap on his knee, and for the next minute or so, the two of them sit in silence, both of them looking out the window and watching the scenery slowly pass by.

“I actually feel really good too,” Jisung suddenly pipes up.

“Hm?” Minho transfers his focus back to him.

“I feel really good, even if I’m tired—I basically feel the good kind of tired, you know? Like the kind of tired one feels after a very productive and accomplished day,” Jisung continues.

“What are you saying you accomplished today?” Minho has a feeling he already knows what Jisung is going to say, but he asks anyway because he wants to hear it.

“A good day,” Jisung answers; and then more softly, just for Minho to hear – almost the exact words Minho was expecting to hear, “A happy day with my boyfriend.”

Despite having predicted the answer, Minho is unable to stop himself from breaking out into a huge grin. A happy day with his boyfriend is just as much an accomplishment for him, and he shows his agreement by reaching over and very lightly squeezing Jisung's knee.

“Technically, that was our first date hyung,” Jisung chirps softly. “We always go out, but it's usually to eat or get coffee—or the others are with us. They don't count.” He chuckles. “This is the first time we both agreed on it being a date  _ before _ we went out.”

“Oh.” As he thinks about it, Minho realises that Jisung has a point. The truth has not really changed much before and after they officially got together – they spent just as much time together that it had never really occurred to Minho that all their little outings weren't technically dates. “We should do it more often, then.”

Jisung laughs, and Minho joins him because they both know that such a declaration is easier said than done considering the work they do and the schedule they keep. At least they had the excuse of being two guys in a band together, and few people will think much of it if they see them around the city – well, as long as they kept their hands to each other anyway, which was another thing that was easier said than implemented as Minho had realised, having had to consistently contain the urge to touch and kiss his boyfriend all day. Frankly, he’d lost count of the number of times that day when he'd wanted to drag Jisung to a corner and kiss him senseless.

Even now he's doing his best to keep still – they're on a bus, and it isn't as if there's a dark corner on it where they can hide. It's strange, because it isn't  _ this  _ hard to keep his hands off Jisung when they're at work, or even at the dorm when the other members are around. He thinks maybe it's the fact that they're officially on break – something about it makes him feel like they should be free to do whatever they want. But of course that isn't the case, so Minho makes do with lightly tapping his hands against his thighs to keep them busy for now.

“I’m proud of you for today, 'Sung,” he tells the younger one. He says it to distract himself from his other thoughts, but he genuinely means the words.

“I am too, hyung,” Jisung nods. “Proud of myself, I mean. Thank you for making everything easier.”

“I didn't really do anything special.”

Jisung laughs – the kind that makes one feel like they just said something absurd. “You spent today with me,” he pointed out. “Having the members around always makes things easier, but having especially you around—you never truly make me second guess myself hyung, so  _ you _ always make me comfortable.”

Minho smiles. He might not have Jisung’s diagnosed anxiety – he might not have the same severe problem with people and crowds that Jisung does – but he knows exactly what the younger means. He's not sure if Jisung is aware, but he's always been Minho’s very own comfort zone as well.

  
  
  


As Minho predicted, they arrive at his parents’ house just before dinner finishes cooking. They greet his father in the living room, and then his mother – after cooing at Jisung and repeatedly stressing how happy she is that Minho brought him along – tells them to put their things away and maybe clean up a little before dinner.

“Do you want to wash up first, hyung, or can I have the bathroom first?” Jisung asks, after he parks his bag at the foot of Minho’s old, childhood bed.

_ Neither, _ Minho thinks as he instead beckons for Jisung to come join him where he’s seated on the bed.

“You wanna go first?” Jisung asks, plopping down next to Minho, who doesn't answer with words.

Minho simply pulls Jisung by the collar of his shirt, catching the latter off guard, and causing him to flail as he falls across Minho's lap.

“Hey—calm down—” Jisung exhales, laughing as he hits Minho’s shoulder, only to pull himself together, shifting around a little so that he ends up properly straddling Minho. “Your mom told us to clean ourselves up,” he points out.

_ “Maybe,”  _ Minho clarifies, letting go of his hold on Jisung’s shirt so he can brush his fingers through Jisung’s hair like he’s been tempted to do all day. “She said  _ maybe,” _ he stresses, right before he leans in, not wasting any more time before his lips are eagerly pressing against Jisung’s own.

He’s been waiting for this all day – he hadn’t even gotten a proper kiss at the dorm that morning before they left, and he’s hungry for one. He doesn’t even bother to hide his eagerness – he forgoes building up from a chaste and slow kiss and he kisses Jisung like he’s been holding his breath for a year, and Jisung is the oxygen he needs to live. He’s raring to taste as much of his boyfriend as he can, and so he seeks immediate entrance to the other male’s mouth by sweeping along the bottom half of his heart-shaped lips.

Jisung very easily gives in, kissing back with as much fervour – at least until the bed suddenly creaks, and the mattress dips beside them, and a loud, intrusive meow breaks through the soft sound of their combined panting.

“Oh—!” Jisung blinks, still a little breathless as he coos at the cat that’s just sitting there, staring at them with almost judgmental eyes. “This one—this is Doongie, right?”

Minho whines – needily,  _ uncharacteristically _ – and he tries to refocus Jisung’s attention back to him, but to no avail. “Yeah. Doongie,” he confirms, sighing as he places a lazy kiss on Jisung’s shoulder.

“Hold up—” Jisung grins and gives him a sweet peck on the cheek before he completely rolls off Minho’s lap, much to the latter’s clear disappointment.

“Wait—” Minho tries to stop him, but his attempt ends up futile. In his head, he pettily curses the appearance of two out of his three cat siblings in his room – but perhaps it was also his fault for being so eager that he had accidentally left the door slightly ajar, allowing them entrance. 

Beside him, Jisung curls up into a crouching position, facing Doongie who, for all intents and purposes, looks to be ignoring him. Jisung fakes a soft mew in an attempt to catch the feline’s attention, even reaching forward to cautiously pet her, but Doongie hisses in response, and quickly jumps off the bed the moment Jisung’s hand almost comes in contact with her.

Minho can’t help himself – he laughs, much too amused at the scene playing out in front of him, and Jisung’s aghast expression does nothing but add to the comic factor.

“Yah!” Jisung whines and gets off the bed, choosing to sit on the floor, while Minho’s laughter grows. “You think you’re cute , don’t you?” 

The comment is seemingly directed at the cat, who simply mewls, seemingly unbothered as she struts across the room towards the door.

“I know I am,” Minho is the one who responds cheekily, as he picks up Soonie, who had been quietly behaving and grooming herself at the foot of the bed.

“Tch.” Jisung huffs at Minho, who moves to get on the floor next to him. He flashes a faux-innocent smile and holds Soonie out towards Jisung in offering.

“She’s much more human friendly,” he explains as he silently urges his boyfriend to take the cat.

Jisung initially turns his nose up at the offer, but Minho mimics his fake mewing noise from earlier, and it’s enough for Jisung to give in; he breaks out into a fond smile and holds his arms out so Minho can transfer Soonie into them.

“Ah, hyung—she’s heavy!” Jisung comments cheekily. “Just like you!”

Minho sticks his tongue out at him for the retort, but he has to admit that Jisung with one of his cats is a damn adorable sight. It makes him pull his phone out of his pocket so he can take a quick succession of photos – Jisung catches on after a couple of shutter clicks, and he readily turns to face him, posing as he holds Soonie up to allow the cat to stare at the phone camera as well.

Afterwards, he continues playing with the cat while Minho scrolls through the pictures, smiling to himself as he picks a few to apply silly filters onto. He’s just finished sending a couple of the filtered versions to the Stray Kids group chat when he notices Doongie from the corner of his eye, moving towards them again. He chuckles when the cat stops by Jisung, and pulls up his camera app, filming when Doongie begins nuzzling against Jisung’s ankles.

“Oi—” Jisung snorts; he lets Soonie escape his hold, and then he stretches his legs out in front of him – only for Doongie to hiss while starting to paw at his socks.  _ “Now _ you want my attention, huh—?”

The cat headbutts his calf in response, and it causes both Jisung and Minho to laugh together.

“As expected, this one really is the most like you, hyung,” Jisung teases, wiggling his foot around and clearly enjoying the way that Doongie follows it around. “She pretends not to want attention until you give it to someone else—and  _ then _ she’s all over you.”

Minho stares at him. “Yah. “ He lightly punches his arm, before repeating, this time with more feigned offense in his tone, “Yah!”

Jisung cackles. “I only tell the truth!”

“Han Jisung—” Minho playfully threatens, moving closer and wrapping his legs around Jisung’s comparably tiny frame. 

“Lee Minho!” Jisung responds, grinning and looking completely unbothered, and once again (what’s new, at this point, really), Minho really wants to kiss him. He wants to continue from where they were so unceremoniously interrupted just minutes earlier by his most bratty cat, and he would, except— 

“Minho!” His mother’s voice is suddenly calling from outside, because  _ of course _ she is. Minho shouldn’t really be surprised by now – the world clearly has something against him making out with his adorable boyfriend. “Dinner’s ready!” She adds, and Minho just sighs and disentangles himself from Jisung, silently vowing that he’ll make sure to get his due before the night is over.

  
  
  


His mom is quite proud of the dinner spread she’s prepared, and as Minho watches Jisung enthusiastically stuff his face with food, he decides that he can’t blame her – he’s feeling quite proud of his mom’s cooking as well. 

“Minho told me that you love soy sauce crabs,” she explains, as she refills Jisung’s bowl with rice. “And I was able to get a very good deal on fresh crabs at the wet market earlier today—pretty timely, if you ask me.” 

Jisung beams at her, and then he exchanges a look with Minho. He doesn’t know how to explain what kind of look it is – it’s a mixture of pride, and fondness and something else Minho can’t pinpoint, but altogether it makes his heart leap in his chest. He’s so damn in love with this boy, he thinks, and sometimes he doesn’t know what to do about it.

His parents have no idea that they’re  _ together _ together. As far as they’re concerned, Jisung is simply one of his bandmates. Maybe they think he’s the one Minho is closest to – maybe they’ve gleaned that he’s Minho’s favorite from all the stories he’s told them about him, but it doesn’t change that in their eyes, Jisung is nothing more than someone who is like a brother to Minho. They’ve expressed happiness about that, even, glad that Minho has been able to find that kind of sibling-like camaraderie for himself despite being their only child. They don’t know that Jisung is so much more than what they’ve assumed – frankly, they don’t even really know that Minho is capable of being attracted to guys the way he is.

He had left to be on his own shortly after graduating high school, and even though he frequently visited and stayed with his parents, he had learned a lot about himself during that time. It isn’t as if he means to hide things from them on purpose either, but he had grown up and grown into himself, and he had become a man almost separate from the boy that his mother and father had raised. His sexuality was not something that was casually brought up over family dinners, and he had never had enough cause or reason to come out to them, either.

As he watches Jisung enthusiastically praise his mother’s cooking and answer his father’s dozen and one questions about growing up in Malaysia, he realises that Jisung – and their relationship – is more than enough reason. Not right now of course – not when they’re still trying to take off and make it big in their choice of career. He doesn’t want his parents worrying about his relationship, on top of their thinly veiled inhibitions regarding his life as an idol. And as much as he wants to trust his parents – as much as he wants to believe that they will be open-minded and accepting, he doesn’t want to subject Jisung to the stress of any possible negative repercussions from them.

So he’ll wait for now, but— _ one day, _ he thinks. One day, when the timing is right, he would gladly and proudly let his parents know that he loves—that he’s  _ in love _ with this man, and that he hopes they can be happy for the two of them.

“It’s too bad you boys can’t join us for the actual holidays,” his father is saying, when Jisung nudges his knee underneath the table, pulling him out of his reverie in the process. He probably noticed that Minho was off in his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, breaking open some crab legs on his plate so he can suck the meat off it. “We’re excited for the tour though!”

“Just make sure you all keep warm and stay healthy over there,” his mother tells them, warm concern evident in her tone.

“We’ll take care of each other,” Jisung assures her with a grin; he sounds so sure, and Minho knows it’s because he genuinely means what he’s saying a hundred percent. 

Jisung is more than willing to put the other members’ well-being ahead of his own any time – but only because he trusts the members enough to know they will do the exact same for him. It’s sweet, and a sure indicator of the kind of personal growth Jisung has undergone from when Minho first met him. It’s also one of the many things that has led to him carving a place all to himself in Minho’s heart.

The rest of dinner conversation is mostly Jisung recounting fun anecdotes from the previous year’s tour, with Minho chiming in every so often while his parents laugh and hang on to every Jisung’s word.

Afterwards, they both readily help clear the table, but when it’s time to wash the dishes, his mother shoos them out of the kitchen, and tells them that they don’t need to bother.

“You’re on break—you boys normally work so hard non-stop so you better enjoy the free time you have,” is what she says. 

Minho is used to his mother babying him whenever he visits home, and considering how much he’s been wanting time alone with his boyfriend, he isn’t about to argue now.

“Hyung—” The way Jisung calls him however, like he’s about to ask a favor, worries him. “Can we go and take a walk?”

That earns Jisung a groan and a strange look from Minho, who can only hope that his frustration doesn’t show too clearly on his face. Why is it that his boyfriend, the kind of guy that one normally can’t pry out of bed unless absolutely necessary, suddenly has all this interest in moving around and doing things  _ outside? _

“Aren’t you tired? Earlier you said you were tired.”

“Earlier I  _ was _ super tired,” Jisung points out with a laugh. “Now I feel incredibly full—it’d be nice to walk that feeling off.”

Minho remains skeptical – partly because he wants to just laze around in relaxation (and if it was anyone other than Jisung asking him for this, he’d tell them off, easy), but mostly for the selfish reason of wanting Jisung all to himself, comfortably curled up and snuggled against him.

“Come on, hyung,” Jisung please. “It would be nice to see the neighborhood you grew up in,” he adds, because of course, he knows exactly what to say to soften Minho up and get him to agree. 

“It’s… cold,” he counters lamely, with absolutely no conviction at all, and Jisung grins smugly, already aware that he’s about to get his way.

Once outside, they start out by walking around aimlessly, with Minho not really knowing what to show Jisung. It’s barely been three years since Minho left home, but it already feels like an entire lifetime ago. Up in the sky, the moon is in its waning phase, and isn’t really lending them much illumination, but fortunately for them, the streets are littered with enough lamp posts that light their way.

Eventually, Minho ends up taking Jisung to a nearby playground where he recalls playing a lot when he was in grade school, but not much past that. It’s deserted, save for a couple of young teens sat atop the slide tower. Fortunately, they were too wrapped up in each other to take notice of them.

“Bet you were like that back in the day,” Jisung whispers to Minho, nodding towards the couple even as his teeth slightly chatter from the cold. He holds up his hands to his mouth, breathing into them; it was clear that now they’ve stopped moving, Jisung is feeling the drop in temperature a lot more.

“If I say I was, would you be jealous?” Minho murmurs, naturally removing his scarf from where it is coiled around his neck, so he can wrap it around Jisung instead. “Told you it’s freezing out.”

Jisung exhales and proceeds to pout at him. “Not jealous,” he answers with a shake of his head. “I have you to myself now anyway, hyung.”

Minho snorts, but try as he might, he can’t really deny the truth in Jisung’s statement. He tries to move past it by not acknowledging it. “Come on,” he tells Jisung, hip lightly bumping against the latter’s side. “Lets get hot packs at the GS25 down the block.”

Jisung keeps giving him woe-is-me eyes, clearly wanting to make him admit to the truth of his words out loud, but Minho refuses to have it. He offers his hand instead – it’s dark, no one is watching them, and they both could use the extra body heat anyway.

They head to the park exit side by side, close and comfortable even without saying anything, only for the silence to suddenly be interrupted by Jisung who lets out a loud squawk.

“Hyung, look—!” He drops Minho’s hand, excited as he gestures towards a couple of stray cats who were curled together under a nearby tree, grooming each other and looking quite affectionate. “How cute.”

They approach in fascination – Jisung more so than Minho who is quite used to this kind of scene by now. Nevertheless, this familiarity doesn’t prevent him from taking out his phone so he can film the felines. Unfortunately for him, the moment he hits record, one of them is quick to run away.

He clicks his tongue in disappointment, but then turns his full attention to the left-behind cat and starts cooing at it and trying to get it to come closer.

“Ah, are you cold?” He murmurs, while Jisung mimics cat meows from behind him. Eventually, the cat runs off as well, presumably to join it's partner. “Oh—okay, go,” Minho bids it farewell with only slight disappointment.

_ “Okay, bye~”  _ Jisung echoes in English. “Always thought you were a cat magnet, hyung—or some kind of cat whisperer. I guess your magic doesn't really work for all of them.”

“Psh,” Minho scoffs, locking his phone and slipping it back into his jacket pocket. “I only need it for one cat anyway,” he retorts, smirking and reaching over to tickle Jisung’s chin.

“One?!” Jisung looks affronted, even as he automatically leans towards Minho’s touch. “ What would Soonie, Doongie and Dori say if they hear you talking like this?!”

Minho shrugs. “Soonie, Doongie and Dori are family. I don't need magic with family—they’re already stuck with me no matter what.”

“I don’t need magic either to stick with you, Minho-hyung,” Jisung points out, soft yet sincere; the simple statement fills Minho’s heart with pleasurable warmth, and to shake it off he instinctively puts out his hand so he can ruffle his boyfriend’s hair – except Jisung beats him to it, blocking his hand with his left arm, only for him to reach out with his right hand to tickle  _ Minho’s _ chin. “Let’s be real though,” he says, cheek back in his tone. “Between you and me, you’re the actual cat, hyung.”

“I—” Minho wants to argue, but Jisung looks so cute and proud, cooing fondly at him, and Minho suddenly can’t help himself.  _ “Meow,” _ he lets out softly – shy and almost uncharacteristically earnest – and when Jisung’s grin doubles in size for it, he knows it was worth it because he gave exactly the perfect response.

  
  
  


It turns out that while they were outside, Minho’s mother had prepared a roll-out mattress on the floor of his room, right next to his bed.

“I’d set you up in the guest room, but that room has been taken over by the cats now,” she explains to Jisung, somewhat apologetic.

“Don’t worry about it, ‘Ma,” Minho assures her. “Jisung’s used to sharing a room with me—it’s no big deal.”

He’s being truthful because they've shared a room a few times on tour even if not officially at the dorm, but even if the extra room hadn’t been turned into cat central, it isn’t as if he would have let his boyfriend sleep anywhere else anyway. 

Once the door is closed, and the lights are out, Minho naturally shuffles over to one side of his bed, never mind that it’s a tiny single.

“‘Sung,” Minho whispers, inviting. He doesn’t really have to say anything else before a gentle rustling of sheets is echoing around the small room and Jisung is gently slipping under the covers next to him.

“Hi,” Jisung murmurs, turning on his side so that the two of them are facing each other.

“Hello,” Minho returns, his hand easily settling on the curve of Jisung’s slender waist. Jisung has on one of Minho’s old PE shirts from high school, and honestly butterflies had started flapping around in his stomach when he’d watched Jisung’s big head pop through the collar earlier, and he’d realised that his boyfriend was now wearing  _ his  _ clothes – he never understood what the deal about your significant other wearing your clothes is, especially since the members frequently wear and use each other’s things, but somehow, the sight of Jisung wearing something old, worn and comfy, that’s also a part of his past – of his life before Stray Kids – just hits differently.

They’re both wearing shorts, and Jisung’s knobby knees knock against Minho’s under the covers, and when he shifts around in an attempt to find the most comfortable position, their bare legs slide along each other. It’s bare minimum skin on skin contact, but it feels electric and the way that he’s unable to hold in the soft gasp that escapes him immediately says a lot about how touch starved he has been all day.

He plays with the hem of Jisung’s shirt, careful and subtle as his fingers slide past the thin cotton material so he can feel the warmth of Jisung’s skin directly under his touch. He moves forward, nose grazing against Jisung’s velvety cheek, and this time, it’s Jisung who draws a sharp breath. 

“Hyung,” he mumbles, hushed but whiny. “Give me a proper kiss already.”

Minho chuckles because he hadn’t even been stalling on purpose. Jisung didn't even really need to ask or demand either because Minho has been wanting to do just that all day, but the younger being as impatient as he is – maybe even more if his petulance is anything to go by – brings forth a harsher, needier side of Minho.

He decides that there's no point in torturing either of them any longer, so he finally leans in properly, eyes fluttering close as soon as their lips meet.

Jisung's lips are soft and pillowy – like clouds, Minho thinks, and it's a strangely apt comparison considering the sensation of kissing them brings him so high up that he feels like he’s touching clouds. It doesn't take long before he’s aching to taste them too, so he sweeps his tongue along the plumpness of Jisung’s lips, and the way the younger male keens in response has gears in his head turning like clockwork. His hand slides easily further up Jisung's torso, still underneath his shirt and like this, he feels Jisung lightly shudder from his touch. Well, that or he’s feeling way too many things at once. Minho can definitely relate.

He grows more persistent, head angling for better access to Jisung’s lips, while the latter gets more and more welcoming, mouth parting just enough for Minho’s tongue to make an entrance. He’s able to taste the freshness of the green tea flavored toothpaste his family regularly uses in Jisung's mouth, and it lends him a certain amount of pride and satisfaction, like somehow Jisung has easily become a part of his family in this way.

Minho feels Jisung’s grip tighten on his shoulder when he makes the bold move of sucking gently on the younger male’s tongue. “Minho—” his name sounds scratchy coming from Jisung's throat, and when Jisung inadvertently begins to grind against his hips, Minho takes it as a sign that he must be doing something right.

The kiss had lasted long enough for them to run out of breath, so they pull away at the same time, only to dive right back in with more, if not twice the fervour. Jisung begins to take more control now, and it’s a change Minho is more than willing to accommodate because Jisung being in charge is so fucking hot, honestly. Jisung has told him one too many times that Minho is beautiful, but quite frankly, there are lots of times when  _ Jisung _ is way too attractive for his own good – way too attractive for  _ Minho's _ own good.

He wouldn't mind going further, so Minho wrestles some of the control back, eager as he pulls at the already thinly stretched collar of Jisung's shirt, mouth latching onto Jisung's exposed collarbone to lightly mark him.

“Minho—” Jisung repeats, breathless and needy. “Hyung—” His breath hitches, and Minho can hear the struggle in his voice as he gathers enough control to place his palm against Minho's chest. “Hold—”   
  
“Sorry,” Minho mumbles in apology, pressing his lips gently against the mark he'd made; it's barely visible in the dim lighting of his bedside lamp, but come morning they both know it'll be a deep reddish purple and much more obvious.

“It's not that,” Jisung shakes his head. “Any shirt will cover that up,” he dismisses – and it's true because by now Minho is expert enough to know just where he's allowed to leave marks that are easily hidden.

“What is it then?” he asks, face burrowing into the crook of Jisung's neck so he can deeply inhale his scent – he even smells like the brand of soap Minho's family uses, and he can't help but think,  _ Jisung smells like home. _

“Your parents,” Jisung sighs, bringing his hand up so he can idly play with Minho's hair. “They're just down the hall.”

“And—?”

“And—and you know!” Jisung whines; even in the dark, when Minho pulls away, he can tell that Jisung is flushed and embarrassed.

He laughs, because despite Jisung's apprehension, his body betrays him. He keeps lightly shifting under the covers, clearly trying to distract himself even as Minho feels the obvious proof of his desire pressing against his leg.

“I don't really care,” Minho says, but he does slip his hand out from underneath Jisung's shirt. He truly doesn't care because he knows how to keep quiet, but he also gets Jisung's inhibitions. “If you want to stop, we'll stop.”

Jisung whimpers. “We should stop,” he insists, sounding more like he's convincing himself more than anyone else. 

Minho finds it cute, just like everything else Jisung does.  _ Fuck, _ he thinks, because he didn't really think it was possible for this to happen, but somehow his needy arousal has been taken over by overwhelming affection.

“Okay,” he agrees. “But if I get blue balls—”

“Those are a myth!”

“They are  _ not!”  _ Minho laughs, right before he starts peppering Jisung's face with feather light kisses, because otherwise he thinks he will explode with all that he's feeling at that moment. 

“Hyung— _ I love you,”  _ Jisung blurts out just as Minho places a swift kiss on the bridge of his nose. “I love you so much—”

He stops what he's doing, moving away so he can stare directly into Jisung's eyes instead. This is how it dawns on him that Jisung has beaten him to the bang – that Jisung has allowed his emotions to consume him until all he could do was spit them out in such an abrupt manner. Even in this feeling of being overwhelmed, they're together, Minho realises, and that gives him a very calming sense of security.

“I love you too,” Minho murmurs in response, leaning in so closely that he practically says the words against Jisung's lips. “I love you too, Jisungie,” he repeats, and he feels it so much, with every fiber of his being.

“Do you know—” Jisung begins, hand moving away from Minho's hair so it can instead travel down to his face, fingertips tracing the contours of Minho's perfectly sculpted features, “—that it's been almost a year since we first confessed to each other?”

“Oh—” Minho blinks, realisation dawning on him. Their actual anniversary date isn't really until early February, but Minho remembers being restless at home over the previous Lunar New Year holidays, unable to calm down because he had decided that he was finally ready to face his feelings for his younger band mate, also known as his self-professed soulmate.

He'd ended up going back to the dorm early, and the two of them settled their feelings at last after a surprisingly easy and straightforward conversation. Minho has never looked back since, and truth be told his feelings only continued to grow –  _ is _ still continuing to grow – from that point onward.

“Happy anniversary, Minho-hyung,” Jisung murmurs.

“Happy anniversary, Jisung,” he returns, lips gingerly touching Jisung's for a peck.

“This is why—” Jisung's breath hitches, and he squirms a little, shifting closer towards Minho and pressing his face against Minho's chest. “Honestly,” he attempts again, “this is why I wanted to try and do things today that neither of us would choose to do on any normal day—becauseI really wanted today to be extra special, hyung.”

Words get stuck in Minho's throat – he wants to express that any day with Jisung is special anyway, but he can't figure out a way to say it without sounding absurdly unlike himself.

Not knowing what else he can do, he captures Jisung's mouth once more with his own for yet another kiss. This time, though, he keeps it slow and languid, taking his sweet, sweet time as he tries to convey every bit of emotion he’s feeling through this intimate act.

He wonders how it's possible to already be this deep in love with someone, but somehow still not be finished falling. And then he thinks about Jisung telling him about his wishes to experience the so-called romance of youth – about how he wants to glean inspiration from such experiences, and Minho thinks he'd gladly help grant that desire.

He wants to do things with Jisung that one normally only reads about in books, or sees in the movies. If it's with Jisung, he'll make anything a reality – and he knows it's possible, because Jisung gives him enough strength to always believe.

“Thank you,” Jisung whispers through the kiss, and Minho knows that he understands perfectly even without Minho having to say anything.

  
  
  
  


_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading to the end! Feedback, as usual, is much appreciated. ♥  
> [TWT](http://twitter.com/hanmings)&&[CC](rel=)
> 
> Also, if anyone is interested, I'm co-modding an event called [SKZ BIGBANG](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/skzbb2020/profile) (follow on [twitter](https://twitter.com/skzbigbang) for more consistent updates!) that's currently open for writer and beta reader sign-ups. Please do check it out if you have the time!


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